Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Former First Lady, Michelle Obama by Artist Amy Sherald

View the commissioned portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama.

February 13, 2018 – Closed

Portrait Gallery

Flight Technology

Learn how and why airplanes fly in this gallery designed for children.

July 1, 1976 – 1988

Air and Space Museum

Investigate the CFM International CFM56-2 turbofan and Pratt & Whitney Canada PW 123 turboprop engines, representative of engines developed in the 1970s and 1980s and used today to power many medium- and short-range transport aircraft.

September 24, 1990 – Closed

Air and Space Museum

Werner von Braun

View photographs, models, and awards received by von Braun, a replica of the tape recorder that returned to earth from Explorer III, and animation art from a 1950 Disney film in an exhibit marking the 20th anniversary of the launch of Explorer I.

January 1978 – Closed

Air and Space Museum

Critical Distance

Critical Distance is a free, augmented-reality experience emphasizing the intrinsic connection between people, orcas, and the ocean. The experience immerses visitors in a holographic orca pod and allows them to witness this endangered species’ daily obstacles.

September 29, 2021 – Summer 2022

Natural History Museum

Aircraft Models

Visit a selection of some 50 finely crafted military and civilian aircraft models of different scale, representing aircraft technology since the early 20th century.

July 29, 1982 – Late 1998

Air and Space Museum

Paintings by Rowland Emett

See two paintings by Rowland Emett that depict two of his whimsical sculptures: Pussiewillow II and MAUD.

November 1, 1980 – 1981

Air and Space Museum

The S.S. (Space Ship) Pussiewillow II

Enjoy a whimsical machine by inventor-sculptor Rowland Emett, who is known worldwide for his intricate machines that whirr, spin, flash, sway, and quiver, going nowhere, doing nothing, poking fun at technology.

March 1, 1980 – 1990

Air and Space Museum

General Aviation

Examine private, non-commercial airline and non-military flight used to transport people, products, and services in the United States.

July 1, 1976 – 1983

Air and Space Museum

Grover Loening

See photographs, trophies, medals, and plane models that tell the story of aircraft designer Grover Loening, the first person in the U.S. to receive a degree in aeronautical engineering.

April 30, 1978 – Closed

Air and Space Museum

Naval Aviation Art

Observe 16 works commemorating the 75-year history of naval aviation. Organized by the U.S. Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland.

August 29, 1986 – Closed

Air and Space Museum

African Mosaic: Selections from the Permanent Collection

This exhibition showcases museum purchases and gifts and provides a glimpse into the collecting opportunities and decisions that exist for art museums.

November 19, 2010 – Closed

African Art Museum

Magellan Venus Probe Video

Watch a 6-minute video showing footage from the unmanned Magellan Venus Probe, launched May 4, 1989 and now orbiting Venus.

August 28, 1990 – Closed

Air and Space Museum

Carrier War in the Pacific

Review 6 principal carrier battles of World War II through models, maps, photographs, and original newsreel footage.

September 29, 1989 – Closed

Air and Space Museum

World War I Aviation

Explore the technological advances of WWI aviation set against a background of a front-line, allied airstrip somewhere in France in 1918.

July 1, 1976 – 1987

Air and Space Museum

Vertical Flight

Visit helicopters, autogiros, and special vehicles in this gallery.

July 1, 1976 – 1994

Air and Space Museum

Workers at the White House

See 10 photo-and-text panels present workers at the White House.

March 5, 2001 – May 2001

Arts and Industries Building

The Muppets Take American History

In this series of special pop-up displays, Muppets from the collection will be appearing in unexpected places.

November 12, 2020 – Rotating Selection

American History Museum

Expeditionary Airfield System (Portable Airport)

See sections of aluminum matting used as a runway that is part of a portable expeditionary airfield system developed by the U.S. Marine Corps in the 1950s, and used extensively during the 1960s in Vietnam.

October 1, 1986 – Closed

Air and Space Museum

Collection of Period Costumes

The Collection of Period Costumes exhibition opened in 1914 in the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building.

1914 – Before 1955

Arts and Industries Building

ICE Meets Ice: International Cometary Explorer

Discover a 1/10 scale model of NASA's ICE (International Cometary Explorer) satellite, which flew through the tail of the Giacobini-Zinner comet in September 1985.

July 11, 1986 – Closed

Air and Space Museum

Flight Testing

Trace the history of flight research, research aircraft, and the test pilot.

July 1, 1976 – 1995

Air and Space Museum

Discovery Room

This Discovery Room will give museum visitors of all ages a chance to handle and closely examine samples of a wide variety of natural history specimens of all shapes and sizes, ranging from whale fossils to petrified wood.

March 5, 1974 – Closed

Natural History Museum

Aerial Firefighting

Trace the history of aerial firefighting in the U.S. through more than 35 historical photographs and film footage of an actual mission that explain the important role of aircraft in the constant battle against wildfires.

December 7, 1984 – Closed

Air and Space Museum

Legend's Image: The Great War in the Air Pictured

See archival treasures of aircraft history, including a photograph of an 1857 gas balloon and a negative and print of the first Wright military aircraft.

July 12, 1993 – Closed

Air and Space Museum